The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been a leader in battling AIDS and caring for those who are HIV-infected since the earliest days of the pandemic. In 1982 the Center founded the Southern California AIDS Hotline, which would later become AIDS Project Los Angeles. In 1985, the Center opened California's first HIV testing site. By 1986, the Center's Ed D. Edelman Health Clinic was the largest HIV clinic in the nation.

Today, the Center's Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic offers people living with HIV/AIDS comprehensive free or low-cost primary and specialty medical care. The clinic's staff of HIV/AIDS specialists--including board-certified physicians, social services case managers, adherence counselors and a nutritionist--care for more than 1,800 people each year, most of whom have no other access to medical care.

In addition to the Goodman Clinic's medical services, the Center's staff of mental health professionals offer one-on-one and group therapy to help people struggling with HIV overcome substance abuse and addiction, adhere to difficult HIV drug regimens, improve self-esteem, survive the trauma of a new HIV diagnosis and manage other issues they may be facing. The program serves more than 1,500 people each year.

The Center's on-site pharmacy serves those most in need, providing specialized drug therapy management. Last year, the pharmacy distributed more than $25 million worth of HIV/AIDS medications through the federally funded AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

The Center tests 800-1,000 people for HIV each month and was one of the first in the nation to adopt rapid HIV testing. A mobile unit--POW! (Prevention on Wheels)--takes HIV-prevention and safer sex information, as well as testing and counseling services, directly to those who are at-risk and hard to reach, primarily gay, bisexual and transgender youth-of-color. Those who test positive can be referred immediately to the Goodman Clinic or other Center programs for treatment or counseling.

The Center works to reduce the spread of HIV through myriad education and prevention services, including: Man2Man, a series of safer-sex workshops and events; HIV Stops with Me, a program that runs a social marketing campaign to reduce the risk of HIV infection; WeHo LIFE, a program running a variety of HIV prevention and social opportunities to reduce the risk of infection for those who live or work in West Hollywood; and Positive Images, a "live better program" for HIV-positive people.